Casting Call: The Idolmaker

In which we suggest who would star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.

These days, you’re as likely to see Justin Timberlake in film as you are on tour. His foray into the movie industry has been a long time coming, but other than a scrapped TV pilot in 2009 and a documentary about child golfers last year, Timberlake hasn’t really dabbled in production. Enter MGM and the remake of 1980s film The Idolmaker.

The Idolmaker was loosely based on the life of Bob Marcucci, the rock manager and promoter who discovered Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The film portrays a success obsessed Ray Sharkey (Kojack) as Vince Vacarri, the controlling manager seeking pop stardom vicariously through the young men he mentors. Sharkey won a Golden Globe playing Vacarri—a hardly subtle name change away from his inspiration. Peter Gallagher (The OC) and Paul Land played the young men he crafts into superstars.

In the early stages of development, Ryan Gosling was attached to star and direct, but since then he’s dropped the project, and director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Footloose 2011) is reportedly in negotiations to take the helm. Brewer’s experience with music and dance in film is a great for this remake, and though the extent of Justin Timberlake’s involvement is pretty vague as of now, he certainly has no shortage of personal narrative to color the old story. If they decide to take the remake one step further and update it to reflect Timberlake’s contemporary experiences with the world of boy bands, this could turn out to be a seriously interesting project.